What this is about: Separating the anime wheat from the chaff! Reviewing every subtitled anime show from 2010 and 2011! For more information about me and my reviews, click here for details on what I am reviewing.

Series Premise: Hunter x Hunter is a weekly anime television series started in October 2011, based on a long-running shonen action/adventure manga series. In addition to over two dozen manga volumes, there was also an anime adaption in 1999 and extended OVA series in 2002; this is a brand-new series, not a sequel. Gon has always dreamed of growing up to become a “hunter”, one of the elite few who travel the world on dangerous missions to find rare creatures, items or people. At the age of 12, he decides to leave the island and follow in his legendary father’s footsteps to take the Hunter examination.

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Very Quick Episode Summary: The Hunter candidates arrive in town with instructions to head to a certain spot at the top of a hill for the actual examination. But along they way, the three of them are waylaid by and old lady who requires them to answer a riddle to pass. Later, they meet up with some shape-shifting creatures in the forest, which also turns out to be part of the test.

My Impressions: Keeping this very short, because I really don’t have much to say about this series at all. It really is following the path of a stereotypical shonen-action-adventure series, albeit a moderately decent one. We are still in the very early stages of defining the world they live, as well as the main characters and the trials they have to face, but given the history of how these type of shows go, I wonder if there will be enough “meat” in the story to keep me interested. Already it is definitely showing how it is aimed at a ten-year-old male audience with the storytelling style; while there is nothing wrong with that per se, it’s not the sort of thing that appeals to a crotchety old dude like myself.

The verdict:

I am guessing that the decision whether or not to continue watching Hunter x Hunter will rest largely on how interesting the characters become. Gon as the bright-eyed, naive, optimistic and talented main lead is fine enough; Kurapika remains somewhat of a mystery. However, Leorio is an unsufferable prick, I hated him immediately and nothing he has done changes my opinion. Only three main, recurring characters at this point, but now that we’re heading into the next scene, I’m sure we’ll get a whole new batch of regulars.

“Until we get to the real meat of the hunter exam, there’s not much to really say. Everything is going smoothly, and our characters are learning more about each other and growing to trust each other more. When the hunter exam does begin, though, I’m expecting a rather powerful change to the story at hand, and is something I’m really looking forward to.” – Emory Anime Club

“I certainly enjoyed the second episode just fine. This is an agreeably high-energy series, bright and loud and cheerful – though I know it gets darker as it goes along…The premise is pretty straightforward and easy to grasp, and not uninteresting. I don’t have anything to compare it to as I haven’t read the manga or seen the original series, bur so far I have nothing to complain about. At the same time, I’m somewhat hard-pressed to find too much to say about it.” – Lost in America

“This show certainly has charm. Just mentioning ‘Magical Beasts’ immediately gives off that adventurous feeling. Anyway, for me– they did a good enough job compressing 2 chapters an episode. It didn’t feel too rushed.” – Hachimitsu